White Horse
by kate657
Summary: She told him to stay away and he did. Now she’s in over her head; kidnapped and about to be blown to bits by a psychopath on a boat. Will she let him help or will she tell him to get back on his white horse and play hero to somebody else?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

_This was supposed to be another one-shot (sequel to War of Words and Blackmail) but halfway through writing it, I changed my mind. It takes place about eight months after the last story left off. Right now, Sam is working undercover for Karpov and trying to get info from Jerry. The Sucky prison fight was actually their breakup because Sam realized that Lucky doesn't trust or believe in her. The explosion in the alley was a ruse so Jerry could kidnap Sam. Jason came upon it after Sam was already gone. Sam was on that boat with Jerry for a week. Oh, and Karpov is still alive. Hope you like it._

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"It's such a waste," Jerry Jacks was telling his captive as he set the last of the plasma charges.

Sam McCall faced him defiantly. "What?" she indulged him. She knew it was stupid to encourage his delusions but she figured if she was going to die in a few minutes, it really didn't matter.

"That you have to die," he said with a careless shrug.

"Then don't kill me," Sam told him tiredly. She knew he wouldn't change his mind for she had already tried to dissuade him too many times. His amused laughter wasn't unexpected but it still managed to annoy her.

He had already succeeded in framing her for his own crimes, and would probably get away with killing her in his latest blast and making her look like his accomplice so he could get away unscathed but did he have to be so cocky?

"Awfully tempting, Sweet Sam, but people like us can't trust anyone but number one." He pointed to himself and tossed his head to the side sadly. "You were quite the adversary. I shall miss you a great deal."

"You'll be joining me sooner than you think," Sam warned him.

"I very much doubt that. I plan to die of old age on a tropical island many, many years from now," Jerry replied.

"It won't take long for the cops to figure out that you didn't die in the explosion and then they're going to find you and you'll 'accidentally' be killed in a police shootout in a few months."

"I'm sure you've noticed by now, Sweet Sam," he raised his glass of champagne to her and took a small sip. "Port Charles' finest are deeply stupid. Even if by some miracle, they figure out that I did not meet my end in the explosion, they would never find me again."

"Then, Jason will."

Jason peeked into the cabin at the mention of his name. He'd been waiting for almost thirty minutes for Jerry to leave the room so he could help Sam and get the hell off the boat.

Even now, he could hear the disdain in her tone. It had been months since she told him to stay away from her after she had discovered that he had covered up for Elizabeth when she had hit Sam with her car, and he had given her time and space.

He knew it would be a while before she would forgive him, especially after she was fired from her television show, but it had been almost eight months and she still seemed to despise him.

"Jason has promised not to kill me."

"He'll break it when he finds out that you've been helping Karpov move drugs in to his territory," Sam told him smugly and enjoyed the nervous twitch of Jerry's cheek.

"No matter," Jerry waved away the problem with a flick of his wrist.

"Keep telling yourself that until your staring down the barrel of Jason's gun," Sam taunted him. "Then you'll be eating his bullets."

"Shut up!" Jerry backhanded her and she was thrown off the bed and onto the floor. Unbeknownst to him, he had just given her the opportunity she had been waiting for.

She swung her leg out and brought Jerry to the ground. She quickly brought her other leg around and held him still between her legs, putting pressure around his neck to warn him not to try anything.

"Now, give me the keys," she ordered.

At first he didn't budge, but she applied pressure to his neck again and squeezed for a few minutes until he was desperate for air. He reached into his pocket and threw the keys in her direction.

She was able to catch them between her teeth and unlock the handcuffs that chained her to the bed frame and placed them on Jerry's. She grabbed Jerry's gun that was nearby and held it on him as she got to her feet.

Jason watched in shock at the shift in power from Jerry to Sam. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he might not have believed it.

Sam grabbed the detonator from the desk. "Looks like you're caught in your own trap, Mr. Craig."

"Now, Sweet Sam, let's not do anything rash," Jerry held his hands out in surrender and she knew he was already looking for a way to spin things.

"We could still be partners."

"Sorry, but as you said before, I can't trust anyone but myself," Sam said with an apologetic look on her face that was complete bullshit. "To be perfectly honest, you're just too much trouble to be allowed to live."

Using his own words against him was the icing on the cake as she watched him realize that he was indeed screwed. She pushed the detonator and watched as the clocks began the count down.

Jason realized what Sam had just done and as she turned to leave, he revealed himself to her. "What did you just do?"

Momentarily caught off guard by Jason's presence, Sam looked shell shocked but she quickly recovered and her mouth curved into a sly smile. "Well, look, its Elizabeth's knight in shining armour."

"Sam," he began to say but she shook her head at him.

"Run now, bitch later," she barked as she took him by the hand and started running.

Jason pulled her up on the docks and she gave him a brief nod of appreciation.

"What were you doing there?" She finally asked him.

"Spinelli caught your distress signal and we were able to track the boat down from that," he replied. He then explained about finding the piece of detonator from the explosion in the alley that Jerry had used to abduct her. "I came to save you."

"I don't need to be saved, Jason," Sam told him honestly. She didn't care if she hurt his feelings anymore.

"Do you realize what you just did?" Jason asked as he pointed at the ruins of Jerry's boats.

Sam nodded carelessly. "I did what you should have done last year." She was referring to his reluctance to kill Jerry after the MetroCourt explosion.

"Karpov was in league with Jerry, Sam. He's responsible for framing you too," Jason reminded her.

"I'm aware of that."

"So he's going to know that you're responsible for blowing up his shipment and his right-hand, and then he'll come after you."

"I know," Sam reiterated, getting annoyed with the lecture. Did he really think she didn't know what she was getting herself into when she decided to work undercover for Karpov and when she pushed that button?

"You're going to need protection."

Sam scoffed at him. "No thanks, Jason."

"Sam, you're gonna get yourself killed."

"I've almost been killed plenty of times and I survived all of that without your help and I will do the same now."

"This is different," Jason insisted.

"No, it isn't," Sam disagreed. "I don't trust you anymore. I can't depend on you to have my back if I can't trust you."

"Sam-"

"No, Jason!" Sam yelled in frustration. "I can take care of myself just like I did before I met you. It's too late for you and your white horse to come around."


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry it took so long. My mom was finally released from the hospital this week after having major abdominal surgery two weeks ago and I've been assisting with her care. I've also been handling things with my sister's care and at the house so I've been crazy busy these past few weeks. Here's the next installment. I think I'll get to work on the next chapter of CaC next. Enjoy._

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Carly Jacks walked into her best friend's apartment and her anger that had been lowering on her way over spiked once again when she saw that he was sitting down on the couch with Spinelli and boiled over when he looked over at her and smiled.

"Hello," Jason acknowledged her presence with a nod.

She narrowed her eyes and slammed the door shut with a thud. "That's all you have to say to me?" she demanded angrily.

Spinelli, sensing that she was mad, gathered his things, told Jason that he would report back to him once he found something and high-tailed it up the stairs to his bedroom so he wouldn't be a victim of her wrath towards Jason.

Jason stared at her in confusion. "Isn't that better than telling you to leave after you barged into my apartment again?"

"You made me a promise, Jason," she said, ignoring his comment about her not knocking before she entered. There were bigger things going on than his precious privacy.

"What happened?"

"I found Jax on the docks," she began to tell him about finding her husband on the docks near the boat explosion that claimed his brother's life and she saw something flicker in Jason's eyes; guilt.

"Look, Carly," he began to speak but she wasn't going to hear it.

"You promised me, Jason!" Carly exclaimed in outrage. "You swore that you wouldn't kill Jerry for my husband's sake. This morning, I learned that Jerry was killed in a boat explosion and that you were spotted fleeing the scene."

She walked further into the penthouse and wiped tears from her eyes. "I was finally making progress with Jax until you went and killed his brother for no reason."

Jason rolled his eyes at her ability to turn almost every situation and make it about her. "I didn't break my promise." Her head snapped up and she was looking at him incredulously.

"You were there, and then the boat exploded," she reminded him.

"I was there but I didn't kill Jerry." He decided that he would tell her the truth about the situation so she wouldn't go off again. "Sam did."

"Sam?" Carly echoed in disbelief. "Why would she kill Jerry?"

"To keep him from killing her," he said and began to tell her the whole story.

Dazed and confused with the information overload that had just been given to her, Carly leaned back on the couch and exhaled loudly. "I need a drink," she muttered and watched as Jason smirked in amusement at her as she rubbed her temple.

"Sam is in way over her head," he added as an afterthought. "I'm afraid Karpov's going to retaliate and she'll end up dead."

"I don't even know where to begin to help you with this situation, Jase," Carly admitted sadly. While she loved helping Jason solve the mysteries that had loomed over Port Charles in the past, she was never his partner the way Sam had been. "This is so far out of my area of expertise."

"I don't know what to do, either," Jason said and she could hear the frustration in his voice. "If Sam would let me help her, I'm sure I'd be fine since she probably has some plan of action in mind, but she won't. She doesn't want anything to do with me."

"Then that's where you need to start."

"What?" Jason was desperate for advice and when Spinelli didn't have any to offer, he was almost at a loss because his roommate almost always had something to contribute.

"Get Sam to let you in," Carly told him.

Jason winced at the notion and shook his head at her. "It'll never happen. She doesn't trust me," he said.

"So you need to prove that she can trust you."

"She has made it clear that she will never forgive me," Jason said miserably as he finally realized what covering up Elizabeth's crime had cost him.

Carly stared at him, utter confusion in her eyes as she looked at him questioningly. "What did you do that was so horrible?"

He took a breath as he prepared for his best friend's anger to hit a new level. "Elizabeth hit Sam and I destroyed all the evidence."

Carly's eyes were set ablaze as she digested the information. "You did WHAT?" She instantly slapped him across the face and bolted off the couch, pacing back and forth angrily.

Jason began to tell her what Sam had refused to hear. "When I had Elizabeth's car fixed, there were three other people who might have hit Sam driving on that road around the time of the accident."

Carly nodded at the information. She had been one of the people he had been suspicious about.

"I remember," she told him, feeling renewed anger at the accusations he had thrown at her when he had come to her house to interrogate her. "I also remember wondering why you were so interested in whom the driver was but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you were spitting in the face of so many people again to be Elizabeth's hero."

Jason ignored the dig. "When I talked to Sam, she told me that she hadn't seen who hit her, only the headlights and by the time she realized what was going on, it was too late."

"Nikolas was cleared the next day so the only two possibilities were Elizabeth and Monica."

"Yeah," Jason nodded as he remembered confronting his mother about her recklessness. It had turned out that Monica truly had reamed into a pole and that experience had been enough of a wake-up call for her. "When Monica finally told me the truth about everything, I realized that Elizabeth had been the one that hit Sam."

"And what did you do with that information?" Carly wondered, fearing she already knew the answer.

"I told Elizabeth who came up with the plan to go to Lucky for help," he replied and explained that Lucky had decided it was best for everyone involved was to close the case and leave it unsolved.

"That stupid bastard!" Carly's outburst surprised even her. She had never been a big fan of her cousin's but even she didn't think that he would so easily betray the woman he had been dating. "He did that to Sam after he had already thrown her out of his house and practically fed her to Diego Alcazar."

"His reasoning was that if Sam found out the truth, she would wreak havoc on Elizabeth's life."

"Were any of you thinking what Sam was going through then?" Carly demanded angrily. She disliked Sam most of the time, but the woman had been going through hell at the time. She had been dumped, broken and battered, terrorized by Diego and then to top it off, was fired from her job.

"Not really," Jason admitted shamefully. "I was focused on how her revenge against Elizabeth would affect my son."

"So if you went to so much trouble to hide the truth, how does Sam know about everything?"

"We never thought that she would remember seeing Elizabeth behind the wheel," Jason merely shrugged at the irony. "Elizabeth told her about what I did when Sam confronted her."

"She actually threw that in Sam's face when she was the one that hit Sam and left her lying in the street like a broken ragdoll?" Carly asked incredulously.

"It slipped out," Jason said.

"I'm sure," Carly muttered disbelievingly.

Sam turned the corner at the end of the hall that led to her apartment and nearly jumped out of her skin when she found Maxie Jones sitting down out side her door.

Maxie looked at her and relief flooded her eyes. "Thank God! Spinelli told me that you were able to turn the tables on Jerry and saved yourself two hours ago. I thought one of the Russians had already gotten to you."

Sam was about to tell her that she had just been out walking around, trying to lose two of Karpov's men that were tailing her before she came home but was caught off guard when Maxie sprang forward and hugged her.

"I'm glad you're okay," the small blond girl whispered shakily.

After the two friends pulled away, Sam dug out her keys. "Yes, I'm fine. I was just doing some recon." She decided she would spare Maxie the truth since it was clear her friend had been terrified for her so she didn't need to hear any details.

But Maxie's curiosity was already lit. "What's your next move?" she asked loudly as Sam walked into her apartment.

Maxie pulled off her jacket and took a seat on Sam's comfortable couch, stretching out her muscles. "Earth to Sam," she said when Sam didn't answer.

A chill ran down Sam's back as she took two more steps in her house. Something was off. "Shh," she told Maxie and looked around for any noticeable changes.

"What is it?" Maxie whispered.

Sam looked around for a fourth time and figured she was just being paranoid. "I don't know. Something just feels weird to me," she replied.

"You were with Jerry for far too long," Maxie commented.

"Yeah I guess so." Sam chuckled along with her friend at the joke but then something on the mantle caught her attention. She didn't remember buying that clock and as she neared it to get a better look, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

It was a bomb, she realized and whirled around. "We've got to get out of here," she said when she saw that the clock had a mere six seconds left.

Maxie looked at her as if she were crazy. "Why?" she asked.

Sam grabbed her hand and pulled her off the couch so far that Maxie slammed into hers and she nearly lost her balance.

"Because that clock is rigged to explode in less than four seconds." The two of them ran as far away as they could but had just crossed the threshold of the apartment when the bomb went off.

Just as Sam realized that the impact of the explosion was what had thrown her into the wall, everything started going dark.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Maxie rushed into the bathroom of her house and grabbed some cloths, towels, two first aide kits and a big bottle of rubbing alcohol. She then headed back to her living couch where Sam was laying, trying to push herself up.

"Stop it!" She scolded Sam and set everything down on the table. "You're going to cause more damage and then I'll have to drag you to the hospital whether you like it or not because I am not a doctor or a nurse."

Sam glared at her with annoyed eyes and Maxie cracked a smile at her. "No hospitals," she declared for the fifth time since they had arrived at her house.

Because Sam had acted as a shield for Maxie, she woke up from the blast with nothing but a minor burn on her arm, which she had taken care of in the bathroom of the lobby of Sam's building. Sam had not been as fortunate; she had sustained numerous cuts and bruises on her arms and legs as well as a stab wound from a few long, jagged shards of glass.

Maxie had to half drag Sam down to her car and then into her house, intending to bring her into her bedroom so she could tend to her wounds without her father or Matt "butting their noses in where they didn't belong" as Sam had put it but had been so tired when they finally arrived, they decided it wasn't worth the physical exertion of going all the way upstairs.

She had felt obligated to rise to her father's defence but then realized that he was the police commissioner and Sam had been arrested numerous times- was actually under suspicion of drug smuggling at the moment- and she could understand Sam not trusting him.

"Yeah, yeah," Maxie rolled her eyes at Sam's persistence. "You don't want to go to the hospital where there will be questions and then police. I get it but I still think you should because those burns look serious."

"They're second and third degree burns and I'll be fine as long as I treat them properly."

"Oh, been there, done that, is that it?" Maxie questioned.

"Yes, I've been burned before." Both physically and metaphorically, Sam added silently.

"What about the stab wound?"

"Superficial," Sam said as she examined it using a mirror to asses the damage done to her stomach. "I don't think the glass even penetrated all the layers of skin."

"Promise me you will go to the doctor's at least," Maxie said.

"I don't need to."

"You have two days."

Sam chuckled incredulously. "Excuse me?"

"You have two days to go to a doctor or I will go to my dad," Maxie warned seriously.

"Are you threatening me?" Sam asked and she was actually amused. Her friend was about as threatening as a kitten.

She liked to pretend that she was tough and didn't give a damn about anything or anyone but herself when in truth, Maxie Jones had a bigger heart and was more selfless than she realized.

"Yes, and don't think that I won't do it because I will."

Now that she believed. She would risk their friendship by going to the police if she had to if it was the only way to make sure that someone she cared about wasn't seriously injured. "I will go to Monica Quartermaine in two days, okay?"

Maxie nodded her acceptance and then came over to help with Sam's wounds. When they were finished, she went to get them something to eat.

"Where are you going to stay?" she asked as she took another swig of soda.

"I haven't really thought that far ahead," Sam admitted, shrugging.

"You could always stay with your mom," Maxie suggested.

Sam immediately shook her head. "I love Alexis but if I stay under her roof again, we'll drive each other insane and probably end up at odds." She also didn't think Alexis would be too keen on helping her given that she believed Jerry's garbage about Sam seducing him and smuggling drugs.

"Maybe Jason will find you some pace to live."

The idea made Sam's blood boil. "No, he won't."

"Sure, he would," Maxie nodded encouragingly. "I saw how hard he worked to find you while you were missing. He cares about what happens to you."

"I meant that he won't because I'm not going to ask him to," Sam said.

"You won't have to," Maxie said, oblivious to her friend's growing rage. "Since I've been friends with Spinelli, I've gotten some insight to Jason Morgan and he seems like the kind of guy to offer that stuff without being asked."

"He is but I don't want his charity," Sam spat angrily, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face.

Maxie finally realized that Sam was furious and was worried. "You are going to tell him about Karpov's retaliation, right?"

"No I will not," Sam said immediately.

"Why?"

"I don't want him involved in my life anymore."

"Sam, this involves him too," Maxie pointed out. "You're under his protection and Karpov went after you anyway. I don't know much but I do know there is a truce between them and that Karpov just violated it."

"I have the situation under control," Sam assured her confidently.

Maxie bolted up from her seat in exasperation. "Your apartment was blown up two hours after you narrowly escaped being blown to bits by Jerry who you just killed."

"You're burned and cut up, walking around like a shish kabob; you are nowhere near in control of anything."

"And what makes you think Jason will be able to change anything?" Sam asked.

Maxie chuckled. "Gee, I don't know. Maybe because he's Jason Morgan; a former enforcer, the current mob boss and pretty much Yoda to everything that is related to being in the mob."

"And I am trained in martial arts, an expert shot, trained to use most firearms, and a former con artist turned undercover operative," Sam retorted.

"So?" Maxie asked.

"So I can handle this myself."

"You're out of your depth on this one, Sam, and I think you know that." Maxie shook her head sadly. "You're just too proud to turn to Jason for help."

"It's got nothing to do with pride. It's about trust and I don't trust him."

An hour later, Sam left Maxie's house, saying she needed to find a new apartment and should do so immediately. Maxie sensed she was lying and was going to start on the next part of her plan against Karpov.

"Bye and thanks for your help," Sam said and hugged her friend goodbye.

"Be careful," Maxie warned her.

Two days later, Spinelli answered the door and his face lit up upon seeing her. "Maximista, this is a surprise," he greeted her excitedly.

Maxie smiled at her best friend and hugged him for a short second before pulling away and looking around. "I actually came to talk to Jason but I'm happy to see you too."

"What is your business with Stone Cold?" Spinelli asked in concern and eyed her arm.

"It's fine," she said, looking at the bandage on her arm where she was burned.

Spinelli called Jason downstairs and when he realized it was her that wanted to talk to him, he gave her a puzzled look.

Maxie cleared her throat as she put her coat and purse down on the couch and sat down. Jason took the chair and Spinelli sat next to her.

"I don't like coming to you for help especially behind my friend's back but I think you're the only one that can knock some sense into her."

"Who?" Jason asked curiously. Maxie didn't give a damn about Elizabeth and actually despised her so if she was in trouble, he had a feeling that Maxie would rather help cause her pain than help her. Lulu was out of danger in regards to Logan's murder so he wondered who and what she was talking about.

"Sam," Maxie replied and told him about the explosion at Sam's penthouse as well as Sam's refusal to ask for help. "I even suggested Lucky after she flat-out refused to go to you and that just seemed to make her angrier."

"Why didn't you just ask Mac?" Jason wondered. Being his daughter, it was natural for her to go to her father when she had a problem.

"Uh, because I still want to call Sam my friend after this," Maxie said incredulously. Jason realized she knew of Sam's distaste for the cops. "Besides, she is still out on bail until they realize that she was telling the truth when she said she was being framed and drop the charges."

"And if Maximista were to go to her father, she would then have to tell him why Karpov was going after her so hard which would mean revealing that Fair Samantha was the one that killed the Demented One."

"Jerry killed himself," Jason disagreed. He had been the one to set the explosives with the intent of killing Sam but instead wound up being the one killed instead.

"If Sam was so against asking for my help, why did you come to me?" Jason wondered. Surely, Maxie knew that Sam would consider this a betrayal.

"Sam doesn't think clearly when it comes to you because she's still hurting and angry about what happened between you; she doesn't want to admit that you're the only one that can help her."

"But aren't you worried that she'll hate you for coming to Stone Cold?" Spinelli asked, concerned that Maxie might be hurt if Sam was mad at her. He knew how close Maxie and Sam were as friends; they were the only girl friend either had.

"I know she'll be mad at me." Maxie wasn't looking forward to that. "But at least she'll live and I think once she gets over the anger, she'll realize that I am only trying to help her and that I don't want to see her hurt."

"She'll forgive you eventually," Jason agreed and hoped he was right. "Once she gets over the anger, she'll realize that you were looking out for her; underneath everything, she's a very caring and forgiving person."

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Maxie remarked. "Hell, you've tested her ability to forgive enough times."

"Maximista," Spinelli started to tell her not to antagonize Jason but she held a silencing hand up to him.

"But it seems you've finally pushed her to her limit," Maxie continued, unfazed by the increasing coldness behind Jason's eyes. "I'm curious about what you did that has made her think that she can't come to you when she needs your hep as much as she does now."

"That's between me and Sam," he said through clenched teeth and Maxie smiled inwardly.

She had hated Jason for everything he had done to Sam, but by being Spinelli's friend, that hate had started to wane, however there was still enough of her abhorrence for what he did to Sam left to occasionally taunt him.

She also hoped that if she bugged him enough, he would explode in anger and tell her what had happened by trying to explain why it wasn't his fault.

"Stone Cold wasn't trying to hurt Fair Samantha with his actions but the Maternal One-" Spinelli rose to his friend's defence but then quickly clamped his mouth shut with his right hand when he realized he had said too much.

Maxie's eyes glittered with triumph as she said, "Elizabeth is involved?" She shook her head at the mention of the despicable woman. "Hmm, I should have known."

"You don't know the details about what happened so don't judge without the facts," Jason told her, praying she would take his advice and drop the subject.

"And I'm sure if I did know everything, you would still be the bastard that I think you are right now," Maxie countered and then raised an eyebrow. "Maybe even a bigger one."

"He is a bastard."

All three of them turned to the door and were shocked by Sam's appearance.

"How did you get in?" Jason was the first one to ask because he was sure he would've heard her had she used the door.

"Your windows need better locks," Sam said mysteriously. Truthfully, she had broken into Sonny's old penthouse by going in the employee entrance and using the stairs that were around the corner in the outside hall, gone out one of the windows and made her way over to the nursery window of Jason's penthouse, picked the lock and crept downstairs.

She looked over at Maxie. "Why are you here?" she asked nervously.

Sam sighed in annoyance. "I realized you were right when you said that Jason should know about Karpov's betrayal so I came to tell him about it." She shifted her gaze to Jason. "I might not be willing to accept your help but if your truce with Karpov is being broken left and right, then you should know and deal with it accordingly."

"I appreciate the heads up," Jason nodded but Sam was now looking at Maxie.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"She came here to tell me the same thing," Jason lied. He didn't know why he felt the need to spare Maxie the pain of Sam's wrath and the loss of a friendship that obviously meant a lot to her and Sam but he suspected that her devotion to both Spinelli and Sam had something to do with it.

Sam's face relaxed. "Okay, I guess I'll go then."

"Where?" Jason called after her.

"What?" Sam asked as she turned around to face him once again.

"You no longer have a place to live so I'm wondering where you're going," Jason replied carefully.

"I was going to go beg Alexis for a room," Sam replied.

"No, you weren't," Jason shook his head at the idea. "You have a target on your back so there's no way you would go to Alexis and put her and your sisters in danger by living in the same house, not while Karpov was still after you."

Sam bit her lip in frustration. "Then I'll go to-"

"You wouldn't go to Kelly's for the same reason," Jason interrupted her, knowing she was very fond of Mike and would never put risk him getting hurt either.

Sam cursed him for knowing her so well. "I guess I can ask Nik." She tried desperately but Jason actually smiled at her as he shook his head dismissively at the idea.

"Nik has a son and he's your family."

"Okay, so maybe I don't know exactly where I'm going," Sam admitted, exasperated with his smugness.

"I can put you in a safe-house, Sam," Jason offered.

Sam laughed at him harshly. "Do I look like your safe-house slut Elizabeth to you?"

Maxie exploded into laughter at that. "I overheard her gushing about meeting you in a safe-house to Robin a few weeks ago."

"Oh, it's what they do," Sam told her. "Elizabeth is so afraid of her own shadow that she doesn't have the guts to face Jason's life in public so she's suckered him into being together in secret."

Maxie looked at Jason incredulously. "Is that true?" she asked him.

"Yes, it is," Sam said, eyeing Jason coldly. "I ran into Elizabeth while she was on her way to see him once. Or rather, she ran into me."

Jason's eyes widened a fraction at the subtle mention of the hit-and-run. "That's none of your business," he said to Maxie.

Maxie rolled her eyes. "Did it ever occur to you that the two of you are adults and that if you truly cared about each other and actually had a snowball's chance in hell of making it as a couple, you wouldn't need to sneak around like that?"

"Of course not because that would require Jason admitting that Elizabeth was actually wrong about something and in his eyes, she is never wrong about anything."

"I never said that," he argued.

"You didn't have to. Your actions speak for themselves," Sam snapped.

"I did what I thought was best, Sam, but that doesn't mean that I don't know that what I did was wrong now."

"Too late, Jason, and that doesn't mean that you think what she did was wrong."

"I know that we were all wrong."

Sam eyes blazed. "Then why did you do it?"

"You already know why," he reminded her of his son.

Sam rolled her eyes. "You know the two of you use him as an excuse for everything you do just so you won't have to take responsibility and actually admit that you made a mistake."

"We're trying to protect…" Jason trailed off as he realized he was about to reveal that he had a son.

"And to hell with everyone else!" Sam was enraged at the fact that he was sticking to his story like glue. "You lied, you cheated, you destroyed lives and continue to do so but it doesn't even seem to faze you."

Spinelli stood between the two of them. "Fair Samantha, Stone Cold," he called for them. When he had their attention, he sighed in relief. "I have a suggestion as to where Sam might stay."

Sam blinked, starting to calm down as she focused her attention on what Spinelli was saying. "Where?"

Spinelli walked to the door and opened it. "The Godfather's former abode sits across the hall, unoccupied."

"Sonny wouldn't agree to that," Sam said, realizing that Sonny still hated her because of Amelia's manipulations.

"Yes, he would but it doesn't matter because I own that penthouse now." Jason considered the idea of moving across the hall and was beginning to see the appeal. It wasn't the ideal situation which would be moving her back into the penthouse where he could make sure she was safe but it was the next best thing.

"No charity," Sam dismissed it.

"You can buy it from me if you want." Jason told her that they could put her name on the lease so no one would be able to kick her out since she knew he didn't trust her.

Sam considered this and after a few minutes, she looked at Jason. "Is that ugly rug still there?" she asked.


	4. Chapter 4

_I was out all day today in the freezing weather. It seems like everyone should have brought a shovel with them outside today. There is so much snow but I don't really mind it that much. I'm pretty much used to it. But what I can't stand the most about winter is all the slush. That stuff is so gross. It got all over my purse today because I lost my footing in a parking lot. I was able to catch myself so I didn't fall but my purse slipped out of my hands. To top that off, I lost my claddagh ring given to me by my parents for my 18th birthday down a drain. Bah hum bug. Well, not really but today has not been a good day. When I got home, I went to my room and started writing. Here's the next instalment. Enjoy it because I don't think I'll be able to update again until after the holidays are over. Happy Holidays!_

_PS: To answer a reviewer's question about the couples of this story. There is only one focus. JaSam. No LuSam or Liason. I don't like these pairings at all. Liz and Lucky may make appearances but they are not going to be romantic interests for Jason or Sam._

**Chapter 4**

"I realize that you lost almost everything in the explosion," Maxie said as she came into Sam's new penthouse apartment half-carrying, half-dragging two boxes from a very expensive store. "But don't you think you went a little overboard with the shopping?"

Her friend was laughing as she took one of the boxes from her arms to lighten the load that Maxie was subtly complaining about. "Growing up, my father moved us around a lot and I was allowed to keep only a suitcase and a knapsack full of things. I guess I overcompensate as an adult."

Maxie almost dropped the smaller box she had been holding. "That wouldn't even cover half of my wardrobe."

Sam walked out to the hallway to grab the last box. At the same time, Jason opened his door.

"Hey," he greeted her pleasantly.

She looked at him and narrowed her eyes. "Jason," she said in a clipped tone. She bent down to try to pick up the box but a sharp pain in her hip had her cry out in pain. It seemed all of the activity from the last few days had taken a toll on her hip injury.

Jason caught her before she fell and when she looked up into his eyes, she felt like she was drowning in the wide pools of concern that stared back at her. "Thank you," she said and pushed herself back up.

"Do you need some help?" he asked, staring down at the box pointedly.

She wanted to say no. She wanted to tell him to go away and leave her alone but she realized that she wouldn't be able to carry the box that held her new pots and pans inside by herself. She didn't want to ask Maxie who had already done more than her fair share of carrying due to Sam's injuries.

"Yes, please," she relented and hoped she didn't sound too grateful.

Jason picked up the box with great ease and led the way into her apartment. "Where do you want it?" he asked, looking around the apartment. Now that he got a look around, he was amazed. "Wow."

"It's different," he added.

"If by different, you mean tastefully decorated, then yes, it definitely is," Maxie commented from her place on the sofa which was an exact replica of the one from Sam's old penthouse. "Sonny may be The Godfather and all that but he should really leave interior decorating to those who know what they're doing."

He looked at Sam who was laughing in amusement. "I thought it was okay before," Jason replied.

Maxie glared daggers at him. Even though she wasn't an interior decorator, she did have a really good taste to make big bucks in the trade. Sam supposed it came from all the accessorizing she did for her own wardrobe as well as putting together Kate Howard's magazine _Crimson_.

"How would you know?" She snapped, gesturing to the apartment across the hall. "Your apartment is practically bare. At least Sonny made an effort. Your furniture probably came with the place."

"Thanks again for all your help, Maxie," Sam cut in before Jason could respond. She knew the two made an effort to coexist for Spinelli's sake but they still could barely tolerate each other.

"What are friends for," was her reply. It touched Sam that their friendship meant so much to the younger girl. She had certainly gone above and beyond and Sam would never forget it.

Jason put the box down on the counter in the kitchen and then turned to Sam. "I'm glad you decided to move in," he said and then walked out the door.

"I've never heard him be that sincere," Maxie remarked as she stared at the doorway Jason had just walked through. She turned to Sam. "He was nervous, too."

Sam shrugged at Jason's jittery behaviour carelessly. "Not my problem anymore."

"What happened?" Maxie's eyes were alive with curiosity as she turned to face Sam.

Sam stared at her blankly.

"Something happened," Maxie continued, pointing to the hallway. "The two of you were heading towards some semblance of peace during the bomb threat at GH, but after your accident and the thing with Diego, things went back to the way they were before, only you're furious with him now."

Maxie knew all about the kidnapping and the incident in the park. She wasn't aware that Jake was Jason's son but she knew enough truth to understand what really happened between Jason and Sam and why he had been so angry with her.

She was completely unaware of the events surrounding the hit-and-run. "Jason protected Elizabeth at my expense," Sam replied cryptically.

Maxie's eyes grew wide. "What do you mean?" She knew that Elizabeth had been involved but she had no idea that Jason had apparently protected her.

"It doesn't matter. What's done is done," Sam replied, and began to put her dishes away.

"Bull," Maxie called her on her bluff. "Sam, I'm your friend. You can tell me anything and it will stay between us. Haven't I proven that you can trust me?"

Sam looked at her doubtfully. "In the past. Only this involves Elizabeth. Are you sure you would be able to resist using this to stick it to her?"

Maxie glowered at her. "You know me too well," she said indignantly. She sighed heavily and nodded.

Once Sam told Maxie everything about the hit-and-run; that Elizabeth had been the one that hit her, Jason, knowing that that was a possibility had had her car fixed anyway and continued to investigate to find out if Elizabeth truly had hit her.

"If he has proof and you remember, why isn't she behind bars?" Maxie's tone was furious.

Sam explained that Elizabeth and Jason had gone to Lucky with the information who then decided to close the case, classify it as unsolved and leave her in the dark about everything.

Maxie's blue eyes were ice cold by the time Sam was done. The blonde stood up from the couch, grabbed up her purse and marched out of the penthouse, determined to give that asshole a piece of her mind.

Behind her, she could hear Sam calling her name, but she was too pissed to acknowledge that she had heard her. She finally reached the door to Jason and Spinelli's house and instead of knocking like she usually did, she grabbed the doorknob, twisted it and flung the door open with so much force that it smacked hard against the wall as she stomped inside.

Her eyes zeroed in on Jason sitting on the couch while Spinelli had been typing on his computer in the chair and the two of them were now looking at her in shock. Once she saw the annoyance in Jason's eyes, she walked over to him, grabbed her purse and threw it at him, her aim impeccable for once as it hit him right in the face.

Then, she stepped over Spinelli's leg, swung her arm back and smacked him, hard. "You selfish son of a bitch!" she exclaimed in outrage.

"Maximista!" Spinelli finally piped up and stood up in protest. "Your Fairness must calm down."

Maxie turned to him angrily, her eyes set ablaze at the fact that he stood up for Jason, when he knew all about what he had done for Elizabeth. "Don't you even dare. Not after what he did and what you probably helped him do!"

"Maxie, stop," Sam yelled as she ran into the penthouse, her gaze bouncing from each person and finally rested on Jason holding his face in pain.

"No, I will not stop," Maxie shouted back and turned back to Jason. "Not until he looks me in the eye and admits what he did. I have respectfully kept my opinions about his crimes to myself these past few months but I will not turn a blind eye on this one."

"What did I do?" Jason asked, looking directly at Sam, who rolled her eyes at the confusion and anger in his tone.

"Don't you dare talk to her like that," Maxie chastised him. "You're the one that messed up here, buddy, not Sam."

"Maxie, please explain what has angered you," Spinelli said calmly, looking between the three of them nervously because he feared he knew what had her riled up.

"I told her about the accident," Sam explained.

Jason looked down at the floor in shame while Spinelli avoided meeting Maxie's demanding gaze.

"Accident?" Maxie parroted incredulously. "A fender bender is an accident. Running over a dog is an accident. Hitting someone with your car and driving away without bothering to see if they are okay is a crime, people! A crime that nearly got Sam killed."

"The Maternal One never meant to cause harm to The Goddess."

Maxie chuckled disbelievingly at Spinelli's reasoning.

"We were trying to find the best way to solve the situation without causing anyone more distress."

"You were trying to find a solution that wouldn't cause Elizabeth any problems," Sam corrected Jason venomously.

"She couldn't bear to go to prison and leave her sons without a mother."

"I don't give a damn about her," Maxie spat angrily. "She decided to get in that car that night, knowing that she was too doped up to drive. She claimed to be so worried about her children but she went to see you. She hit Sam and kept on driving. Elizabeth made her own bed; you should have let her suffer the consequences."

"I couldn't let her go to prison for something that was an accident. At the time, I wasn't sure she was even the driver."

"Elizabeth knew that she was," Maxie reminded him.

"I didn't know that," Jason replied.

"Let's say you had," she suggested and shrugged at him mockingly. "Would you have done anything differently?"

Jason hesitated.

"I didn't think so." Maxie nodded smugly. "You covered up a crime. You protected Elizabeth at Sam's expense. I was there when they brought her to the hospital. She almost died that night."

"It was an impossible situation!" Jason exploded angrily, his gaze never wavering from hers. "No matter what I did, I would have hurt someone."

Maxie latched onto this information. "I've heard your excuses," she said as she glanced at Sam whose jaw tightened in anger. She dismissed them with a wave of her hand. "And you're full of shit."

"You have no idea," Jason started to say but she refused to let him continue.

"I know that you chose to throw Sam to the wolves," Maxie interrupted, her voice deadly calm. "There is no grey area here. There is a right choice and a wrong one. I don't have to know everything that has happened between you and Sam to know that what you chose to do was wrong."

She walked over to stand beside Spinelli and then swung her gaze back to Jason. "Sam could have been a complete stranger. Elizabeth could have been your wife and it would still be wrong." She watched Jason cringe at the idea of Elizabeth being his wife and was silently surprised. At least he wasn't completely gone.

Jason looked at Sam whose rage was almost tangible now. "I'm sorry," he said desperately, looking at her pleadingly.

Maxie saw the weakness that sparked in Sam's eyes as she pretended to be indifferent to his apology.

"Do you really think that is enough?" She was happy to continue the fight if Sam wasn't up to it. Her rage at seeing her friend almost die was sparked once again. "You should be on your hands and knees begging for forgiveness. Personally, I think she should turn you and your safe-house slut in."

She already knew that Sam wouldn't do that but seeing Jason Morgan so destroyed was empowering.

"Maxie," Spinelli pulled her hand into his and tried to drag her away. "Perhaps it would be best to leave Stone Cold and Fair Samantha alone so they can discuss this in private."

She considered her friend's request. "Fine," she gave up and then turned to Spinelli. "Maybe then you can explain to me what the hell you were thinking when you went along with this."

Spinelli gulped fearfully but willingly followed her out of the penthouse and across the hall to Sam's.

When they were finally gone, Sam turned to leave too but Jason reached out and gently pulled her back by her elbow. "Spinelli's right," he told her softly. "We should talk about this."

"There's nothing more to talk about." Her tone was stone cold and Jason felt a shiver run down his spine. This wasn't going to be easy but he was willing to go through anything if it meant she wouldn't look at him with so much hatred anymore.

"I don't think that's true," he spoke softly.

Sam turned to him. "You were wrong but you still think you were right."

"I did what I thought was best at the time."

"Stop using that as an excuse, Jason," she shook her head at the words that were starting to sound like a mantra to her. "Maxie's right—it is a load of crap and I will not accept it anymore."

"What do you think I should have done?" Jason asked curiously, studying her face as she considered her answer. "Do you think I should've called the cops? Turned her in?"

Sam clucked her tongue against her cheek. "No," she finally said. "I never wanted that, Jason."

"You should've told me," she continued, walking over to the couch and sitting down. "One of you should have come to me. Elizabeth should have apologized. I wouldn't have pressed charges and you know it."

"I did not—"

"Yes, you did!" Sam fired back, cutting his denial off before he could even finish the sentence. "You know I'm not that vindictive. I wanted an apology, an explanation but instead I got more lies. She actually tried to blackmail me. You threatened to turn me in as an accessory to Jake's kidnapping—again!"

"I'm sorry," he apologized lamely. There was no way he could defend himself against that. He knew it was despicable, especially after he had already threatened to do so and she still covered for him on the stand at his trial.

"I don't think that's enough," she replied, looking at him now. "You threatened me for her, Jason. That time at the prison, I understood it was to protect your son from your enemies. I even understand you threatening to kill me because it was an emotional reaction to what I had done."

"You treated me like I was the one that did something wrong. I was the victim, the one that almost died because of her reckless behaviour."

"I know," he admitted and once again felt ashamed of his actions. He never dreamed that he would ever threaten Sam in any way and he had done so three times in less than a year.

"I don't know how to let go of this anger." She shook her head sadly. "You have proven that you do not trust me, especially when it comes to Elizabeth and your son. You've continually put her needs above mine, even at a time when I almost died. I understand that she is your son's mother but that doesn't excuse anything that either one of you have done."

"I messed up, Sam."

"You didn't trust me when it counted, Jason." She nodded in agreement to his acknowledgement. "So how am I supposed to trust you now?"

"I don't know, Sam, but I hope we can figure this out."

"Why?" Sam wondered. After all this time, why did it matter to him so much?

"Because you're in a world of danger right now." He took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly.

"And you're worried that it might cause a war with you and Karpov?" Sam asked, figuring he was worrying about having to defend his already weak organization against the ruthless Russians.

He shook his head. "Karpov has already violated our truce so a war was bound to happen." He leaned forward, looking at her intensely. "I'm worried about you."

"I'll be fine," she said again, annoyed that he was underestimating her again. "I can take care of myself."

"I know all about your capabilities, Sam, but it doesn't stop me from worrying."

"Why are you so worried?"

"Because I don't want anything to happen to you."


	5. Chapter 5

_Here's the next instalment. I hope you enjoy and I hope everyone is enjoying 2009 so far. I also hope you all had a great time over the holidays. I have a few more weeks off until I go back to school. I have a brief appointment at school next week. I plan to make the most of my time off because then I'm in school for the next ten months, getting only weekend and statutory holidays off. My sessions last throughout the semester too which—to my surprise—I really don't mind. Leave some words if you're feeling generous. ;)_

**Chapter 5**

Maxie sat down on Sam's comfortable couch and nodded her head to the seat beside her. Spinelli sat down and put some distance between them.

"Well?" she tapped her stiletto heel on the floor impatiently.

Spinelli glanced at her and then cowered once more, immediately staring down at the floor and she could sense that he was clamming up.

"You have been spending way too much time with Jason," she remarked and he looked up at her in offence. Mission accomplished. Whenever someone insulted Jason, Spinelli immediately started to defend him as if it were a reflex.

"Perhaps it would be best to leave the past in the past," Spinelli advised her.

Maxie scoffed incredulously. "Best for you so then you won't have to explain why you helped Jason cover up a crime against your Fair Goddess, whom you betrayed when you did so."

Spinelli shook his head insistently. "I would never betray any of my friends," he vowed solemnly.

"When you helped Jason cover up Elizabeth's crime, you did so at Sam's expense."

"I never helped Stone Cold cover up the evidence of Fair Elizabeth's wrongdoing," he shook his head in denial and then finally met her gaze. "I merely aided him in the investigation of the hit and run. I wasn't privy to the knowledge that The Maternal One was involved. I was under the impression that Stone Cold wanted the person or persons that harmed Fair Samantha brought to justice."

"So Jason never told you that Elizabeth could have hit Sam?" Maxie shifted in her seat and looked at him in confusion. "How could he keep such vital information from you?" She wondered. Spinelli had been helping him figure out who was behind the hit-and-run but Jason kept him out of the loop when having that vital piece of information would have saved a lot of wasted time and effort.

"Stone Cold was probably hoping that she was not the culprit and since he had already gotten her bumper fixed before he even came to me, he most likely assumed that I would not be able to point a finger at her."

"So you uncovered Elizabeth's involvement on your own?" Maxie asked.

He nodded, his confidence in his abilities shining through in his eyes. "The Jackal left no stone unturned."

"But when Monica was cleared, you knew Elizabeth was the one that hit Sam and you didn't say anything to anyone."

"I told Jason."

"What about Sam?" she snapped. "Why didn't you go to her with the information? That way, she could have had some say in what happened."

"Stone Cold asked me not to tell another soul about what I knew until he figured out what he was going to do," Spinelli replied, cringing in fear because he now realized that explanation would make her angrier.

His prediction turned out to be true because Maxie's eyes burned with anger. "Until he decided what to do?" she repeated incredulously, shaking her head and balling her fists in exasperation. "Who the hell does he think he is?"

"And why didn't you tell Sam anyway?"

Spinelli gasped horribly. "I cannot defy Stone Cold. He is the master and I am his grasshopper."

"Well, Grasshopper, I hope you realize that by keeping your mouth shut, you did betray Sam," Maxie pointed an accusing finger at him. "Not only that, but you chose Jason's side over hers again."

Spinelli looked hurt by her words. "What are you talking about?"

"When Jason and Sam exploded, you took his side, and abandoned Sam," Maxie reminded him. "I hadn't heard her mention you in months until she came to talk to me about the time she ran into you at the shooting range she goes to."

Spinelli's cheek reddened in embarrassment at the reminder of that incident. He had been trying to prove that he could be tough like Jason so he had taken a gun and gone down to the range that he knew Jason and Sam frequented to learn how to properly shoot a gun. Sam had ran into him as the manager was about to throw him out for putting five bullet holes in the wall that was in the opposite direction that he was supposed to be firing at.

"Why did you alienate her?" Maxie asked curiously. "She was your friend while she lived with Jason but when she moved out, it was as if the two of you had never been friends."

"Sam commented every now and then that she missed you but she never made an effort to see you because she didn't want you to be uncomfortable."

"I upset the Goddess?" Spinelli looked appalled.

"You were her friend and then when she broke up with Jason, you weren't," Maxie replied, and raised her brow at him. "What do you think?"

Sam pulled her hand out of his and sighed heavily. "Well, things are going to happen to me, Jason," she replied and looked at him, her expression serious. "You can't always be there to protect me or save he day whenever I land in trouble anymore. Under cover work is what I do now. It's dangerous and it's invigorating. I like it and I'm not going to stop doing what I do just to make you or anyone else feel better."

"I would never tell you how to live your life, Sam," Jason shook his head at the implication. "I only want to ensure that you don't get killed right now. I understand that your job has risks and that you know what you're doing. You've saved my ass so many times; I know you can save your own."

"But?" Sam asked, raising her brows at him. She knew that there was some point he was trying to make.

"But the situation you're in now is not something you can handle by yourself," he finished, treading carefully.

"Says who?" Sam asked with narrowed eyes.

"You know I'm right. You've already realized that you can't get out of this on your own," Jason told her smugly and his gaze filled with knowledge that Sam hated he had. He wasn't supposed to know her so well anymore. She had changed from the woman she had been while she was with him but he seemed to have taken all those changes into account. "I know the players here. I know this world. Let me help you."

Sam appraised him. He was definitely sincere in his concern for her well-being. But could he be trusted to follow her lead and not tell her what to do?

He reached out and took hold of her chin, gently turning her face up so they were eye to eye. "I only want to help you. I don't want to take charge of your life. We were always great partners in crime."

She rolled her eyes and sighed with defeat. "Fine."

"Thank you," he said and smiled in relief.

Sam switched into business mode. "There's only way that I see to get out of this and you're right—I will need your help to get it done."

"What's your plan?" Jason asked.

"I have to kill Karpov," she told him and if not for the seriousness in her eyes, he would have thought she was kidding.

"Kill him?" he repeated in shock.

"It's kill or be killed here, Jason, and I do value my life so I'm going to take that bastard down," Sam explained and then shifted her gaze to the table in front of her. "Without Karpov, the Russians will be lost and confused. They will probably turned to Sasha—their lawyer—who knows enough about the business to keep it functioning but she knows nothing about defending the territory. Her lack of experience in that aspect will give us the advantage."

"What's our ultimate goal after that?" Jason asked.

"Kill Sasha, or pay her way out of town," Sam replied, looking back at him. "Once she's gone, regardless of how, the rest of the Russian Syndicate will follow, especially after you blow up all their warehouses and shipments, freeze their accounts, get Customs on their backs, etcetera."

Jason was impressed. It was a well thought out plan. He was definitely proud of her but he saw one glaring problem with it. "How do you plan to get close enough to Karpov to kill him?" he asked.

Sam bit her lip in annoyance. That was the flaw in the grand design. "That is where your knowledge of the players and the way things work will come into play." She hadn't been undercover long enough to get deep enough into the organization to know all the inner workings. She knew the names of most of the footmen but they were only goons. She knew Karpov and Sasha but she didn't know where they were at all times.

"We'll figure something out," Jason said with confidence. He looked at her curiously.

"What?" She asked.

"You did know you would need my help eventually didn't you?" he asked.

"Well, I sure as hell wasn't going to go to Sonny," she remarked, her face cringing with disgust at the notion. "Why do you think I haven't done anything yet? I was figuring out how I was going to get you to do what I needed without…" her voice trailed off.

"Without asking for my help," he realized.

Sam nodded and the awkwardness of the moment was felt by both of them. "You saved me the trouble by offering though."

"It was the least I could do."

"No argument here."


	6. Chapter 6

_Happy Valentines Day for tomorrow. Here's the next instalment of this story. I hope you all enjoy your day. Also, to fellow Candians, enjoy Family Day and the long weekend if you happen to get that day off. Long weekend for me! Yippee! _

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Sam had just finished listening to the message Jason had left on her voicemail when she heard the insistent knocking on her door. She made a mental note to call Jason back and tell him that she was okay with meeting up later on to discuss their options on her way over to the front door. "All right, calm down. I'm coming," she shouted in annoyance.

She swung the door opened and upon seeing her guest, she sighed loudly in frustration as her gaze landed on one of the few people she loved but absolutely did not want to deal with at the moment.

"Hey, Sam," Her cousin, Nikolas, smiled at her and looked around the hallway, pointedly looking at Jason's door. She could see millions of questions in his eyes and she felt a headache coming on, knowing the conversation would not be pleasant.

"May I come in?" Nikolas asked, peering behind her pointedly. She smiled at him and opened the door further for him.

"Of course you can," she said and allowed him to walk through the doorway.

"Nice," he commented as he took a seat on her couch and finally met her expectant gaze and smiled.

"But?" Sam asked knowingly as she closed the door and joined him on the couch.

"Curious choice, that's all."

"My place blew up, Nikolas," Sam reminded him and surveyed the apartment she now owned. "I'm a woman of little means now so when Jason generously offered me Sonny's penthouse at half the price, I had to take it."

Nikolas rolled his eyes. "You got a huge severance package from the show, Sam, and you know if you had asked, I would've lent you the money or even given you a place to stay. Don't expect me to believe that Jason's generosity is the real reason you decided to accept the apartment. I know there's something more going on here."

She felt irritation creep up her spine at his words. Sometimes he was annoyingly perceptive.

"Jason wouldn't offer this apartment to you if he didn't think there was a reason you should be in such close proximity to him again."

"Don't worry about me," Sam tried to assure him. "I've got everything covered."

His eyes widened in alarm. "You'll forgive me if I'm not exactly reassured by that knowledge."

Sam sighed heavily. "Concentrate on your son instead of your adult cousin who is capable of taking care of herself."

Nikolas glared at her angrily. "You're my family. You have had a lot of close calls lately so don't tell me to stop worrying because it isn't going to happen."

"Instead, tell me what is going on." His gaze pleaded with her to let him in. He probably thought he could help and she felt a small amount of guilt as she shook her head. She could never let him help her out of this mess. It was too dangerous for her, let alone a man with a young son.

"Does this have anything to do with the explosion that killed Jerry?" Nikolas saw something flash through her eyes and decided to rely on his hunch. "I had a feeling you were involved in that."

Sam looked at him nervously. "What are you talking about?"

He leaned forward and smirked at her. "Come on, Sam, you were the one that detonated those bombs."

"So," Sam met his gaze unflinchingly.

He seemed surprised by her admission. He half expected her to spew out denials of all kinds, claiming that she was missing at the time, even though Jason was frantically searching for her, going to Jax of all people for information which to Nikolas was a dead giveaway that Jerry was the one that had taken Sam.

"And Lucky told me that he suspected Jerry was working with Karpov," Nikolas told her of his brother's suspicions.

"Lucky was suspicious?" Sam's tone was incredulous. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised the self-absorbed ass would claim credit for someone else's suspicions. But when I told him about it, he practically laughed in my face."

"You told Lucky that Jerry was in league with Karpov?" Nikolas was tempted to ask why his brother would lie but at Sam's stormy expression, he decided against asking her.

"When was the last time Lucky had an original thought?" Sam asked him sarcastically. Clearly, she was still pissed about whatever had broken the two of them up. "I was the one that infiltrated the Russian Syndicate while I was trying to smoke out whoever was putting those counterfeit drugs on the market."

Nikolas shifted his gaze from hers as he looked around the apartment to focus on something else. "I didn't realize you and Lucky were on such bad terms," he muttered, absently wondering why his brother never warned him that Sam was furious.

The curse that came from her lips was muttered so silently, he might not have heard it had he not been sitting as close to her as he was. "Jackass," was what he thought he heard and the tight expression now on her face confirmed that he had not imagined it.

"I know it's not my place," he began to speak on his brother's behalf and defend him but the sudden coldness in her eyes caused him to trail off midsentence. "What?"

"Don't," she warned him seriously, repositioning herself on the couch once again, a move he attributed to her sore hip. "Don't defend Lucky to me. I know he's your brother, but I'm your cousin and if you don't want to ruin our relationship and destroy my trust in you, I'm asking that you stay out of it and leave it alone."

He nodded in understanding. "Of course," he added for good measure.

She smiled at him gratefully. "Thank you." And once again he felt bad about the surprise that was reflected in her gaze but the vulnerability vanished quickly, almost immediately replaced by the stormy, mysterious cloud swirling in her mocha eyes.

Sam McCall was not the easiest person to get close to. She was very guarded. She had built walls around her so thick you needed a bulldozer to even try to break them down. Her recent brushes with heartache and pain had only fortified those walls.

As her cousin, he felt outraged at the people that had put her through the wringer so many times, allowing her to live under the belief that she wasn't worth anything. That she was indeed trash and should be grateful for any scraps of affection that the people around her decided to throw her way.

Her past gave her an amazing strength that he felt truly made her the intelligent, resourceful, amazing woman that sat before him. She was a Cassadine by birth which made them biological relatives, but it was her spirit and undying loyalty and strength that made him proud to call her family.

While she continued to rattle on about how Maxie was the mastermind behind the décor of her apartment, he realized she was trying to distract him.

"And what did Jason think about it?" He asked suddenly, knowing that Morgan was probably more involved in her life than he was just two weeks before.

Sam narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't see why that is relevant," she murmured, turning away from him because she didn't like the fact that Jason's name had come up again.

"So he's been inside since you've moved on," Nikolas realized almost immediately why she had turned away from him. He was getting close to figuring out whatever was going on.

"Yes," came her forceful reply. "He helped me move some boxes."

"And have you seen him since?" He knew the answer was yes before she turned back around to fix him with a glare.

"Why do you keep bringing him up?" She demanded to know.

"I'm just trying to figure out how Jason fits into everything," Nikolas replied, shrugging innocently. "You're living across the hall from him right now, which makes you neighbour. I want to make sure he's not being an ass again."

He almost laughed at the scoff of disbelief that immediately escaped her lips. It truly was a lame excuse but it was all he could think of.

Sam leaned forward and looked at him seriously. "I am the one that killed Jerry." He gasped. He already knew that but it was one thing to know and quite another to actually hear her say the words. "As I've already said, Jerry was working with Karpov and when I pushed that detonator, not only did I blow Jerry up, but I also destroyed a very large shipment that belonged to the Russians."

She sighed heavily, chastising herself for giving in and telling him even the smallest bit of information she was now. "Jason is helping me deal with the fallout." She looked up at him and felt moved by the concern in his eyes.

"I'll be fine," she promised.

"You're going against the Russians," Nikolas said slowly, terror welling inside him as he thought of the danger that she was facing. His cousin could get herself killed. "You're anything but fine."

"I have a plan," Sam revealed sheepishly. "It's a good one. It will take time to carry out but it will drive the Russians out of Port Charles forever. It will get rid of those poisonous placebos too."

"I don't care about the pills," Nikolas shook his head in exasperation. "I don't care about the Russians swarming the city. I care about you and what you're talking about could get you killed. You already have Karpov gunning for you. Do not put yourself in more danger."

"I'm already in danger and I have been for a while," Sam reminded him irritably. "But I have backup this time."

"And you honestly think you can trust Jason Morgan this time around?" Nikolas asked incredulously. He knew all about how Morgan had treated his cousin before and after their breakup. He was even suspicious about him having something to do with the hit and run accident and the fact that the culprit was never found.

"I don't have a choice," Sam told him honestly. "But for what it's worth, I do believe that Jason is on my side." She saw the lingering doubt in his eyes. "He can't hurt me because there's nothing going on between us. This is all about getting rid of the Russians and saving my skin. That's it."

Nikolas nodded at her in understanding, signalling that he would keep her secret. "I don't like the idea of putting your life in his hands."

"Well, just remember that it works both ways," Sam put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "His life is also in mine."


	7. Chapter 7

_Here's the next installment. Bit of a time jump in this but it's only a month. Enjoy._

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Nikolas Cassadine arrived at his dead fiancée's brother's apartment a month later, preparing himself for what would probably be an awkward conversation with Jason Morgan. He raised his arm and knocked on the door a few times.

To say he was surprised would be an understatement when as the door opened, his cousin appeared on the other side. His very angry-looking cousin.

Sam's eyes were narrowed in annoyance and he could see the suspicion in her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she asked, opening the door and motioning for him to come in quickly.

Nikolas crossed the threshold and took a look around. Jason was seated on his couch, looking up at him with a curious expression. Nik looked at the papers strewn all over the coffee table and figured that they were somehow related to whatever plan Jason and Sam were working on to free her from the clutches of the Russian Syndicate.

"Well?" His cousin's voice drew him from his thoughts and he glanced up at her penetrating gaze.

"I wanted to talk to Jason," he replied simply.

"What about?" Jason's brow furrowed in confusion and Nikolas imagined that he was wondering about his out-of-the-blue visit.

"Sam," Nikolas replied, looking at his cousin pointedly. "And how safe she really is right now."

"I thought we already talked about this." Sam spoke before Jason had a chance to form a response.

Nikolas looked at her. "I know what you've told me," he corrected her, noticing the way her eyes narrowed. "And I have a feeling that your plan will not be executed as easily as you made it seem."

"I never said it would be easy." Sam looked around the room distractedly as she tried to think of a way to explain it to him. "There is always a chance things could go wrong but I've got alternatives in mind if they do."

Jason turned to her in surprise. "You do?" He lifted a brow a fraction at her quizzically.

"Yes," Sam said through clenched teeth. "Contrary to what you might believe, I am walking into this situation with my eyes wide open."

"So you're not making it up as you go along?" Nikolas asked sarcastically. The way Sam stiffened and turned away from him was a clear indicator that the remark wasn't appreciated.

"I am doing the best I can given the circumstances," Sam answered a while later, turning back to him with fire in her eyes.

"You could step back and let the police handle it." Nikolas suggested smartly.

Both Jason and Sam scoffed in response.

"The PCPD aren't equipped to handle the Russians." Jason muttered quietly.

"Besides, this isn't their fight," Sam spoke loudly, her voice full of passion as she looked at Nikolas and Jason. "It's mine."

"This fight could get you killed."

"Don't you understand?" Sam demanded impatiently, clenching her fists in exasperation. "I'm dead if I don't fight. And if things do go wrong, then I'm not going down without one helluva battle."

"So far, the only thing you've done is annoy the Russians," Nikolas pointed out and both Jason and Sam looked at him questioningly. "Oh, come on. I know the two of you are behind their shipments being destroyed."

"And freezing their assets," Sam added with a devilish grin. "I want to annoy them." She looked at Nikolas seriously. "I want to become such a thorn in their side that they'll have no choice but to send someone after me."

"That's your plan?" Nikolas's angry voice thundered in disbelief. "You're going to play chicken with them?" He turned to Jason, his eyes narrowing at him murderously. "How could you agree to help her with this? It's going to get her killed."

"There's more to it than that," Jason argued and glanced at Sam who was rolling her eyes at her cousin's behaviour.

"If you keep causing problems for them, eventually they'll send someone after one or both of you."

"They have to find me first," Sam remarked.

"This isn't a game, Sam."

"Yes, it is." Sam insisted. "It's called cat and mouse. Only the mouse isn't as meek as they think she is. When they send someone after me, I'm going to sneak up behind them and hit them where it hurts."

"With backup," Jason added looking at her with an intensity and hidden message that Nikolas couldn't figure out. Sam nodded in agreement with him.

"She'd be better off on her own." Nikolas muttered darkly as he glared at Jason angrily. "The last time she needed you, not only did you bail, you crushed her on your way out."

Morgan glared at him angrily but Sam was the one that spoke. "We both made mistakes. It wasn't just one person's fault."

"Yeah, the other person's name is Elizabeth," Maxie said from the top of the stairs. All three turned to glare at her. "Don't mind me. I was just passing through." She smirked as Jason clenched and unclenched his fists as she walked by them.

She had been hanging out with Spinelli and was getting ready to head back to her house when she overheard Nikolas yelling.

"Bye, Maxie," Sam said slowly, glancing towards the door, hoping her friend would get the message.

Maxie was going to linger but the meaning behind Sam's words was unmistakable. This wasn't the time to point fingers and dredge up history that would only lead to an argument. "Bye." She winked at Sam on her way out.

Nikolas knew Elizabeth played a role in their problems but the way Sam tensed up and her eyes burned with anger at just the mention of her name told him that there was way more to it than he had been told. He wondered if his friend had been less than honest with him based on Sam's reaction.

"Anyways," Sam broke the silence. "We've talked about things and we're both in agreement." She turned to Jason. "Right?"

"Yes," he answered quickly.

"Are you telling me that you actually trust him?" Nikolas asked.

Sam hesitated before she answered which made Jason wince from the sting of the realization that she didn't trust him as much as she used to.

"Yes," she spoke softly, swallowing down the burst of pain. It wasn't easy facing the reality that things had changed between her and Jason but she was pretty well acquainted with regret. "I do."

A few minutes after Nikolas left them alone, Jason looked at her curiously. "Are you sure about this?" he asked for the nine hundredth time.

"Yes," Sam assured him and then she looked at him meaningfully. "I wasn't lying. I do trust you."

Jason acknowledged her with a nod of understanding but he couldn't help the disappointment swelling within him. As if she read his mind, she continued. "We've still got a long way to go but I do know that I can count on you to watch my back."

He smiled at her as he nodded in agreement. It had taken a lot of time but the ease when working together had slowly returned. They were always great partners, whether they were on speaking terms or not, but now they had rebuilt some of the trust they had lost.

"How'd your last attempt go?" He asked curiously and watched her frown.

"A swing and a miss," she replied indignantly.

"What does that mean?" He asked.

"It means that I'm still making rookie mistakes." She stomped over to him and sat down as she pulled her lock-picking set out. "I'm better than fifteen minutes. It used to take me only seven minutes to break into a house like the one that Karpov's been living in and three to get out. It took me nine minutes to get into his study without being spotted."

They had already nailed down Karpov's routine so the final part of their plan was when the Russians got fed up and put a hit out on them, they would go into hiding.

Then after a few days, Sam would break into Karpov's mansion, kill him and slip out with his men being none the wiser while Jason would be busy taking care of disarming Karpov's men.

Sam used to be a professional thief so it made sense that she be the one to get rid of Karpov because she had incredible talent when it came to coming and going without being noticed. No matter how much he wished it would be him pulling the trigger, it had to be with her. He didn't have her skills when it came to breaking sophisticated security systems.

"But it's good for me to practice," Sam's voice pulled him from his thoughts. She laughed lightly. "Back to basics."

"Basics?" He repeated questioningly.

Sam nodded. "An expression." She explained and then laughed as his confusion deepened.

"I understand that but thievery is going back to basics for you?"

"Yes," she said and smiled as she recalled how good it had felt after she had finished her first solo job. "I was a jewellery thief mostly and doing that helped me get out from under Cody's thumb. Eventually I stole enough to leave and fend for myself which was way better than always cleaning up his messes."

She had never told him that before. "Do you miss stealing from people?"

Sam shook her head. "I stole to survive. I just happened to be amazing at it." A self satisfied smirk spread across her face.

"How long will it take to get it back?" He asked curiously.

"As long as it takes," Sam answered cryptically. "You can't rush perfection, Jase. When I break into Karpov's mansion, I have to have total confidence in what I'm doing because that's when things go smoothly. Any sooner and things will go wrong."

"How are things on your end?"

Jason handed her the surveillance photos he had been studying. "This is a different setup from last week."

"They rotate every four days," he explained the change in guards and positions.

Sam looked at him, impressed. "It's good that you're on top of everything."

He looked at her meaningfully. "I'm not going to let you down, Sam." He reached out and took her hand in his.

Sam instinctively pulled away from his touch. She ignored the flash of pain in his eyes that cut at her own heart and smiled at him. "I certainly hope not," she said softly and walked back to the desk that had the specs of Karpov's mansion.

Jason sighed. Yep, they still had a long, long way to go.


	8. Chapter 8

_Yeah, I know. It's been too long. Life got in the way. Here's the next installment. Enjoy._

**Chapter 8**

Two months later, Sam McCall stepped through Andre Karpov's mansion like a cat, her footsteps light as she managed to sneak past another guard without being noticed. Of course, the information Jason had compiled about the guards and their surveillance weaknesses was a tremendous help, she knew most her success was thanks to her own instincts, which she had managed to hone to perfection when she was barely a teenager.

Her senses were on full alert as she closed the door to Karpov's bedroom all the way, barely hearing the soft click of the mechanisms within the heavy metal door with her own ears.

She looked down at the old man who was snoring away, completely unaware of the danger he was now in and wondered again how he could be so lethal when he wasn't even capable of fortifying his own home. She shook her head in disappointment, annoyed that this old fart was the cause of all her own problems, as well as Jason's and Sonny's. How could he be such a threat?

She knew the answer, though. No man was an army and Karpov had followers who would do anything for him. People that would jump off a bridge on his say so.

Sam glared down at him as she walked quietly over to his bedside. He still wasn't aware of her presence and she had to remind herself that it was a good thing. It was what she wanted—to get in, kill the bastard and get out, everyone else none the wiser to her presence in the house.

As much as she wanted to watch him die, knowing it was her that killed him, she knew it was safer for herself and everyone else if the killer of Andre Karpov was anonymous. That was why she chose to go with the weapon she now held in her hand; a syringe.

She jabbed the syringe into his arm, and injected the paralyzing agent she had managed to acquire.

Once she saw the drug taking effect, she took advantage of the IV that had already been set up. She had heard through the grapevine on the piers that Karpov had had surgery recently and now homecare nurses who came every day to set up an IV for him. She turned off the IV so the medication would no longer flow into his body and held up the empty syringe to the IV tube.

She punctured the tube with the needle on the syringe and injected a dose of nothing but air into the IV which caused an air bubble. After several minutes, she checked his pulse to make sure that he was indeed dead and smiled with delight.

It really was tragic. Karpov was a mob boss and all it took to kill him was a measly little air bubble injected by someone who didn't even know how to set up an IV.

"Oh well, better him than me," She muttered as she left the room as quietly as she had entered. Or Jason, her heart added.

Two days later, Sam crossed the hall and knocked on Jason's apartment door with a newspaper in hand. Once it opened and he saw that it was she, his eyes grew wide and he quickly ushered her inside.

"I have been checking my voicemail every hour," he told her angrily. "Why haven't you checked in?"

Sam looked at him incredulously. "I live across the hall."

He faltered at the realization that she was right and he was scolding her for no apparent reason, but then grew annoyed at her callous attitude. He had been worried about her.

"Well?" He asked, looking at her questioningly. "How did your trip go?"

She held up the newspaper so he could see the headline and flashed him a dazzling smile. "How do you think?"

He took the paper from her and read the article, frowning when he read the cause of death. "Myocardial infarction?" he raised a brow incredulously at her.

"Who knew air bubbles could cause so much trouble?" she answered jokily.

He smirked. "No wonder you never told me how you were going to do it."

Sam shrugged in response. "It would've been way too obvious if I had used a gun or tried to suffocate him. This way, there's no way the police will suspect either one of us were involved."

"What about the Russians?" he asked seriously, worried that they might catch on.

"They won't think of me." She assured him. "When I was piloting for him, there was a time when someone got shot and captured. It was one of your guys and before he could recognize me I pretended to faint because of all the blood." She continued to explain that when she had come to, she had made a big show about how she couldn't stand the sight of blood and told them that she even dropped at the sight of a needle one time.

Jason found himself smiling as she told him the story. She constantly amazed him with her resourcefulness and ability to think on her feet. It was remarkable how she managed to improvise and adapt to any given situation.

Throwing in the story about fainting at the sight of a needle would definitely cross her off the list of potential suspects in the Russians' eyes.

"I pretended to have a diva moment and told them that if they had to bump somebody off on a freighter I was piloting, they should have the decency to do it below deck." Her eyes were bright with merriment as she finished telling him the story. "One of the guards actually apologized to me."

"Sasha Danev was the only one that really unnerved me," she confided and then her eyes grew troubled. "She's got a real set of brass ones on her. I don't think there's anything she wouldn't do to save her own skin."

"Then she shouldn't have a problem taking my money to go away." Jason walked into the kitchen and returned a few seconds later with two beers in his hands. He offered her one of them and she took it from him with a grateful smile. "We actually pulled it off," he told her in surprise as he sat down.

"Yeah, we did." Sam nodded in agreement. "It'll be good to no longer have that death threat looming over my head."

"You did a good job." He spoke softly but his voice was full of seriousness. "And I couldn't be more proud of you."

Her eyes widened in surprise at such a compliment. "Um, thanks. And you were great backup."

They gazed at each other for a long time, sharing the moment of triumph and reconnection until the ringing of Jason's cell phone broke the spell.

Jason jerked his head towards the offending sound and grumbled as he got up to answer the phone he had stupidly left on and all the way on the desk. He picked it up and felt nauseous when he saw who the caller was.

"What is it?" He asked and watched as Sam stiffened at the shrill whine that came over the other line, loud enough for her to hear on the couch.

"Calm down, Elizabeth," he told her patiently and felt his heart constrict painfully in his chest as the walls came down over Sam's face and her expression turned cold.

She had just been open and happy with him moments before. Her eyes were full of laughter as she had told him about her time with the Russians. She had really opened up to him in the little while they'd been working together. She shared how excited she had been when she got her scores back from her PI exam and told him how it had been surprisingly easy for her to set up the PI firm she now ran.

And all it took to shatter the moment they had shared and taint their tentative friendship was a small utterance of a name.

"He's gone!" Elizabeth shrieked into the phone. "Our son is gone."

Jason's eyes widened. "What do you mean Jake's gone?" He demanded in terror and headed into the kitchen as he listened to her broken explanation of the events surrounding the day.

"Jake's been kidnapped." He told her bluntly when he returned and she gulped at the pain in his voice. Judging by the guilt and agony she could see swimming in his eyes, she bet Elizabeth had blamed it all on him.

Moved by an inexplicable feeling, Sam walked over to his side and placed her hand in his. It was a knee-jerk reaction to his pain. She squeezed his fingers lightly. "We'll get him back." No matter what, she added silently, and knew without a doubt that she would lay down her life to save Jake Spencer if she had to.


	9. Chapter 9

_No, it's not an illusion. This is actually a new chapter. Been really busy with work and all that but I finally got inspired and wrote you a new chapter. Enjoy._

**Chapter 9**

Sam squinted at the computer screen in front of her. She had been sitting at her desk in her new PI firm McCall Investigations she had opened almost two months before for three hours looking at frame-by-frame footage searching for the van the kidnappers that had taken Jake may had used.

Three hours and she had a good view of the driver. A driver who looked somewhat familiar to her but the picture was a little too blurry for her to be absolutely sure.

With Spinelli working for her part-time, she had learned a lot of computer tricks she never knew about before and was given any software that Spinelli could get his hands on. Unfortunately she wasn't computer-savvy enough to figure out how to make the imaging program to fix the picture so she could see the driver's face clearly.

Jason had been convinced that it was enemies from his line of work but Sam didn't understand why or how most of them would know about Jake being his son since it wasn't really supposed to be public knowledge. But, now, with this blurry image in front of her, she too now believed it was his enemies. Jason suspected the Zaccharas. Looking at the face before her, her heart filled with worry because she had a feeling that they would be facing a worse enemy than even the twisted Zaccharas.

She pulled out a blank DVD and burned the files. When the software was done making the video of the DVD she put the disc in a case and dropped it in her purse. She grabbed her coat and headed out the door, locking her office behind her.

Jason sat on the couch as Spinelli typed away at his computer. He didn't know what the younger man was doing but he hoped he found something that would lead him to his son.

_"I told you this would happen!" Elizabeth had screamed at him when he stopped by her house to get the details on what had happened._

_"Once again your son is paying for your stupid decisions," she had wailed while Lucky literally held her together._

_He hadn't argued with her, knowing that defending himself would only make things worse. All he wanted was to find Jake and bring him home safely. But he needed Elizabeth's and Lucky's help in order to do that._

_Elizabeth had been out with both Cameron and Jake. She had decided to take them the long way to the park, a route that was very isolated. Halfway there, men had jumped out of a van parked nearby and held a gun on her and Cameron. Another person had approached the stroller and taken Jake with a warning: "You even breathe and I will snap his neck right here."_

_So she had literally watched while the person she had told him was probably a woman based on the sound of her voice and the shape of her body stole her son and put him in the back of a van. The other three had kept the guns on her and Cameron long after the van was out of sight and told her to go back home._

_Jason had immediately suspected the Zaccharas. He didn't know why but the careless disregard for innocent lives reeked of the patriarch, Anthony._

_"What are you still doing here?" Elizabeth demanded of him, suddenly strong with anger and grief, pulled herself out of Lucky's arm. She gave Jason a slight shove towards the door. "Get out there and find my baby," she had ordered stonily._

_"Please, Jason," Lucky had called him as he was about to leave. Jason had turned around and saw the grief he was feeling mirrored in the other man's eyes. "Just bring him home."_

_"And after that, don't you ever come back here again." Elizabeth said frostily._

So here he was sitting helplessly as he waited for Spinelli to find something useful. A couple of knocks sounded on the door. He was on his feet immediately and strode to the door. He opened it and was surprised to see Sam standing there with a determined look on her face. Right away his heart filled with hope.

He started to ask her if she had come across something when he noticed she wasn't looking at him. No, her gaze was zeroed in on Spinelli at the desk. He stepped aside, allowing her entry and she strode past him and immediately stopped by Spinelli. She whipped a case out of her purse.

"Stop whatever you're doing now." She told him insistently and took the mouse from his hand and closed the program before Spinelli even had a chance to react.

"Goddess, do you have any idea what you've just done?" Spinelli sputtered as he watched hours of work disappear with a careless click of a mouse. "It took me hours to find that and the program was working on scanning every picture for a series of numbers that might lead to the van."

Sam didn't acknowledge his complaints. She merely pulled the chair that he was in away from the desk so she could have access to the computer. Jason caught the roller chair with Spinelli in it before it smacked into the adjacent wall.

Sam popped the DVD she held into the tray. "It was a waste of time," she finally addressed them and then a window with the DVD's contents popped up. She got right to work looking through the video footage Jason realized was of the road that Jake had been abducted on.

He could already see Elizabeth heading into view with Jake in a stroller and Cameron walking right beside her. Sam clicked past to just past the kidnapping. A blurry image of the van driver came on screen and she finally stepped away from the computer.

She pointed to the screen. "This is what I need you to work on."

Spinelli rolled over to the computer and looked at the picture before him curiously. "How did the Goddess come upon this?"

"Traffic cameras were placed around all routes to the park last year." Sam reminded them simply. Now, she turned to Jason as she spoke. "I think I know who that is. If Spinelli can make the image clearer, I'm sure I'll be able to put a name to the face."

Jason glanced at the laptop that Spinelli was now hunched over and clicking away. He then looked back at Sam and felt such a swell of gratitude that he couldn't help but reach for her hand, giving it a light squeeze. "How long did it take you to find that?" he wondered.

Sam allowed him to hold her hand while she nervously pushed a lock of hair back behind her ear. "A few hours," she said and bit her lip. She watched Spinelli working. "I know how much you hate feeling helpless while you wait for Spinelli to find something." She cleared her throat and stared down at the floor as she shrugged. "I figured I might as well lend a hand to speed things along." His grip on her hand tightened.

"Thank you." He told her meaningfully and she looked up at the emotion in his voice. She noticed the sparks of fear in his eyes and walked over to him, reaching out her arms for a hug awkwardly. It took a second for Jason to react and he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and burying his head in her hair. "I can't lose him."

"You won't," she whispered soothingly, reaching up to cup his cheek. "You're going to find Jake and bring him home safe and sound. I know it."

He pulled away. "How can you be so sure?"

She smirked. "He's your son and you love him. That's how I know." She walked a few feet away from Spinelli and sat down on the couch. "And when Jake is home, the people that took him will be dealt with."

Jason grunted in agreement and marvelled at the way she spoke. Her words left no misunderstanding her intent. She understood him more than he could ever give her credit for and more importantly, she didn't look the least bit troubled about the fate she knew his son's kidnappers would be dealt.

"The Jackal has been successful in his attempt to unmask the blurry one." Spinelli announced and turned to them. He waved them over and gestured to the screen.

Jason came over and studied the picture, not recognizing the man.

Sam came forward and sighed heavily. "I know him. His name is Ivan. Don't know his last name."

"How does the Fair Goddess know such a villain?" Spinelli inquired.

"When I was piloting boats for the Russian Syndicate, he was around a lot," she said, nodding her head in certainty at the face. "He wasn't part of the crew though. He showed up whenever there was a security problem and a lot of the times he was accompanied by Sasha Danev."

Jason held his head between his hands. "She was right. This is my fault."

"Fair Elizabeth was emotional, Stone Cold." Spinelli tried to soothe Jason's guilt. "You mustn't take anything she said to heart."

"Jake was kidnapped because of me." Jason said.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Jason, it's not your fault." She told him seriously.

"Sam, the Russians kidnapped him to get leverage on me." He pointed to the picture of Ivan on the screen. "They have my son."

"They don't know he's your son," Sam reminded him and then blocked his view of Ivan. "Don't let Elizabeth blame your for her reckless behaviour."

"You think this is Elizabeth's fault?" Jason asked incredulously.

Sam scoffed. "Why do you think they took Jake?" She threw her hands up in the air. "They obviously think you're a threat so they wanted to piss you off. They know Elizabeth is something to you and she wouldn't stay away from you even after you and everyone else told her it was too dangerous. The Russians took Jake because he is innocent and because he is Elizabeth's son."

"I know you don't think very highly of her," Jason began and Sam glared at him dangerously.

"She blames you for Jake being kidnapped but the fact is that she is the one that put Jake in their sights." Sam narrowed her eyes in anger at Elizabeth for the guilt and pain she could see in Jason's eyes. "Her obsession with you is what put her son in the line of fire or whatever and since she can never acknowledge her own mistakes, she's going to blame it all on someone else."

She let that sink in for a few minutes and then blew out a breath. "Now let's get back to the matter at hand, shall we?"


	10. Chapter 10

_My birthday gift to all of you. Enjoy. I feel like I'm on a roll with all the writing I've been doing. Guess being sick does have a benefit. Enjoy._

**Chapter 10**

"Hey." Sam murmured quickly as she walked past Jason into his apartment. She turned to face him, noticing the anxious look in his eyes when he turned back to face her. "I did a sweep of the building."

"Any problems." Jason asked and he narrowed his eyes at her fidgeting. She did that when she was nervous.

She looked around the room, almost suspiciously, before turning her gaze back to him. "Yeah. Jake is there but so are a lot of other people." And she sighed in frustration.

They had found the location of a small warehouse thanks to Spinelli prying into their finances. It was located in the outskirts of town, but still in a moderately populated area. When she had gone by, she had thought it was very out of place, since it was surrounded by residential properties and developments for a few office buildings.

But Jason's son had been there. She didn't know whether she was very lucky or unlucky because she had been sneaking around outside, trying to find ways to enter unnoticed and of course, signs of Jake Spencer. A car had pulled up out front and two foot soldiers along with Sasha and Jake were just arriving.

"What they lack in actual security they more than make up for in manpower." And she tried to recall how many men she had seen there during the twenty minutes she had been there. "At least fifteen men."

Jason frowned. It was an odd amount to have in such a remote area. "They probably expect me to make a move soon."

"Well of course they do but that's not what I was talking about." She pulled off her jacket and threw it over the arm of the couch. "There are a lot of people that I recognized and I don't think that's not a good sign."

He followed her meaning. If she showed up with him when he went to get Jake, she would definitely be in more danger. The Russians might even realize that she had had a part in what happened to their fallen leader. "Maybe you should sit the rescue out then."

Her eyes narrowed slightly and her forehead creased delicately. "Why would you even say that?" She shook her head stubbornly at the determined expression on his face. "I am going to help you get your son back, Jason. I just think we need to strategize."

He looked at her blankly, still feeling that it would be too dangerous for her to be seen with him, let alone help him get Jake back.

She either didn't notice his discomfort or she was ignoring it because she kept on talking, never once stopping to look at him and notice that he was shaking his head slowly in disagreement with her tagging along.

"I was right." She smirked slightly at the predictability. "The Russians are relying heavily on Sasha now that he's gone." Her eyes grew troubled as she thought about how to deal with the problems they now faced. "She's going to be a problem so we need to deal with her sooner rather than later. I'm not sure if she will go away quietly so we may need to take drastic action."

She turned to him thoughtfully as a thought occurred to her. But her expression faltered when she finally realized he looked very frustrated. "What?"

"We aren't doing anything." His voice was firm and held no room for argument. And she could have slapped him for that. "It's too dangerous."

"Fine." She said simply.

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?" It was too easy to get her to agree.

She nodded slowly. "Of course. I understand." Then she looked at him, her eyes full of laughter for some odd reason. "I'll get Jake and you can be the one to sit the rescue out."

Now she was glaring at him darkly. "Because I am going to the warehouse and getting your son back, Jason—with or without you if need be."

He realized she was warning him not make her decisions for her. "I'm sorry."

She nodded her acceptance. "Now that that's over with, I have an idea." It wasn't a foolproof plan but the Russians wouldn't be expecting it either. "And in order to carry it out, we're going to need to be able to work fast."

"What's your idea?" He saw the mischievous gleam in her eye and wasn't entirely comfortable when it was attributed to a plan to rescue his son but he trusted her enough to know that she wouldn't put Jake in jeopardy.

"I'll go in and look around for Jake." She explained that they would need a few Corinthos-Morgan men to help with a strike against the warehouse. "The ambush itself will be a diversion of course. And while I'm looking for Jake, you look for Sasha, and we take them both with us."

He was about to answer when a knock on the door interrupted him. He rose from the couch and walked towards the door. He opened it and was stunned to see Lucky Spencer on the other side.

"Hey, have you found anything yet." Lucky pushed passed Jason and walked into the penthouse. His eyes flared with disgust when he caught sight of Sam sitting on the couch casually with her legs folded underneath her as she leaned against the back. As if she was quite comfortable. He turned back to Jason furiously. "What the hell is she doing here?"

Jason shot Sam a questioning look but frowned when he saw Sam's eyes narrowed darkly, sparks of anger practically shooting right through Lucky's head. Her breakup with Lucky was a touchy subject so he guessed that it had ended badly but he had no idea there was so much hostility between the two.

"She's helping me." Jason finally answered, stepping around, blocking Lucky's view of Sam so that the cop was only looking at him.

"I don't want her involved."

"Excuse me?" Jason had heard Lucky perfectly but he still couldn't believe that the man was actually giving him an order. He heard Sam rising from the couch and winced at the harsh staccato her heels were making on his floor as she made her way over to the two men. If he didn't know she was angry already, he knew now.

Lucky shook his head in annoyance. "She can't be trusted." The cop sneered as he glanced at Sam and muttered darkly. "For all we know, she's in on the kidnapping."

"Oh, go to hell, Lucky." Sam snapped as her mouth curved into a sarcastic smirk. "You're hardly in a position to be my judge and jury." She came up right beside Jason now and he grabbed her wrist gently on instinct.

He could tell by the way that Lucky tightened his jaw that the situation was about to get worse and the last thing he needed was for Sam to fly off the handle and slap the detective and then get arrested for assaulting a police officer. Lucky Spencer was just the kind of prick to do that.

Lucky sneered at her and took a step closer. "I am Jake's father." Jason glared at him, warning him to shut up now but the detective seemed determined to fight. "And you've put my son in danger before. I don't trust you with his safety."

She wrenched free from Jason's grip but remained planted by his side as she pointed an accusing finger in Lucky's face. "I would give my life to safe that little boy." Sam vowed angrily. "You stand there and accuse me of being thoughtless and cruel but what about you?" She gestured to his service piece in its holster. "I could have your badge for what you did to me."

Lucky snorted incredulously at her and she bit her lip in frustration. "What you did for Elizabeth could land you in jail and I have absolutely no problem with reporting you. In fact, I'll sleep better knowing one of the most incompetent detectives I have ever met is off the streets."

"This is not helping anybody right now." Jason laid a hand on Sam's shoulder to help calm her down and ignored his increasing anger towards Lucky who was stupid enough to harass the only person who had found a lead on Jake's whereabouts. "Sam is already involved in the case and it's going to stay that way."

Lucky opened his mouth to argue but Jason stepped closer, silencing him with his infamous cold stare. "You asked me to find Jake. You shouldn't have a problem with how I decide to do that as long as Jake gets found and I need Sam in order to bring him home. She made a terrible mistake that summer but she is here now, helping me find him and bring him home safe so instead of being angry, you should be grateful because she found him."

The detective glanced in Sam's direction before he glanced back at Jason. "You've found him already?"

"Yes." Jason replied, gripping Sam's shoulder in support now. "We're working on a plan to bring him home right now."

"So you can go now." Sam added simply, ignoring the way his eyes narrowed even more and turned away from him in a dismissive gesture. She didn't give a damn about what Lucky thought of her after the way he treated her. He had proven more than once that he thought she wasn't good enough for him so she had stopped trying to win his approval.

When she looked back on the way she had acted when she was with him, she could feel her stomach turn. It was degrading the way she had turned herself inside out in order to be what he thought she should be and she vowed that she would never let any man treat her like that again.

Lucky looked at Jason as he spoke. "Just bring Jake back." Then he was gone.

Good riddance Sam thought to herself as Jason turned around to face her again, confusion swirling in his blue eyes. "I think we should bribe Sasha." She walked back towards the couch and sat down again.

Jason blinked a few times and then glanced back at the door. It was amazing how she had switched gears. "What just happened there?" He pointed towards the door as he came to sit down beside her.

Sam shrugged. "Bad breakup."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jason asked, looking at her in concern.

"No." Sam answered flatly and shook her head for emphasis. "It doesn't even matter anymore." Jason's expression remained doubtful so she nodded her head in assurance. "Lucky is an asshole and I've already forgotten everything he said."

"I know that he didn't believe in your innocence back when you were arrested."

"He was convinced that instead of working Jerry, I was actually his partner the whole time even though I'd been working with Lucky every step of the way. It didn't matter how many times I tried to reassure him. He didn't trust me. I don't think he ever did." Sam felt her anger flare at the reminder and couldn't help but wish that she had realized it earlier and not wasted her time. "And that's all it took for everything to fall apart."

Jason chose not to comment on the trust issue. That was still a sore spot in their tenuous friendship and he didn't want to open those wounds again so he opted for getting back to business. "I don't know if I like the idea of giving her money."

Sam was totally in sync with him as their gazes met and he could see understanding shining in her eyes. "It's no guarantee, I agree, but it's a lot cleaner than killing her."

He blew out a breath in frustration. "I'd rather not kill her but I don't trust her enough to believe that she'll just take the money and leave."

"She's a lawyer." Sam reminded him in amusement. "They love dollar signs. And given enough zeroes, Sasha would probably do anything we ask."

"Do you think she'd burn in hell for us?" She giggled and then looked at him, her eyes full of amusement and surprise.

"You just cracked a joke." A small smile curved his lips as he watched her giggle in delight at the event. "People don't give you enough credit for your sense of humour." Then they got back to discussing their options.


	11. Chapter 11

**Read & enjoy.

* * *

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**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

"_I knew you were too good to be true_." A soft but heavily accented voice whispered as Sam felt someone pull her backwards roughly, anchoring an arm around her middle while pressing a knife against her throat.

Sasha. Sam realized it was the Russian lawyer and silently chided herself for being caught unaware. Her mind raced, as possible scenarios that might help her escape flashed through her mind.

The problem was that while there were a few scenarios that might work, she realized that they would only help her and as she stared at the little boy playing with his toys on the floor, blissfully unaware of the danger that surrounded him, she knew that she had to save Jason's son first.

She had to completely remove Sasha as a threat before she could even think of plotting her escape.

She allowed Sasha to pull her out of the room and into the hallway but as the slick lawyer tried to round a corner, Sam dug her heels in, refusing to go an inch further.

Sasha raged at her to cooperate or she'd kill Jake which only served to strengthen Sam's resolve. She grabbed hold of the knife with one hand while bringing her other arm up fast and then driving her elbow back into the other woman's ribcage and heard the sickening pop of a few ribs being cracked.

The injury caused Sasha's hold on the knife to loosen and Sam seized the opportunity. She increased her grasp on the wrist holding the knife, tightening her fingers around it until she had a vice-like grip. Then she quickly twisted the wrist, breaking it instantly, which caused Sasha to immediately drop the knife while she cried out in pain but unfortunately for Sasha her pain was just beginning.

She kept a tighter hold on the wrist still, ignoring the desperate way Sasha was clawing at her hand with her other arm, and pulled roughly on the limb, swinging it back around and then once again pulled the arm backwards, an angle that was unnatural for the limb so the shoulder was immediately dislocated, and she imagined it felt like her arm was being pulled out of its socket.

"STOP!" Sasha cried desperately as she held her wounded arm. "Please." She howled miserably.

Sam glared down at her mutinously. "You brought this on yourself." And she shook her head in disapproval. "You don't mess with family or _kids_," she emphasized the last word to drum into the woman's head how badly she had screwed up, and to cover for the fact that she had almost inadvertently revealed the truth. "That is the number one rule in this business." Sam retrieved her own knife from the ground and placed it back into the holster around her ankle and picked her gun up from off the floor, pointing it at Sasha. "And this is better than you deserve." She fired once, aiming straight at the woman's chest.

Then she turned back around and headed towards Jake so she could get them both out before the entire warehouse blew.

* * *

Jason watched in horror as the warehouse exploded while Sam and his son were still inside. "**JAKE**!" He screamed his son's name, hoping that somehow what was in front of his eyes was not happening. He began looking around frantically for any sign of life or indication that anyone had escaped.

"**_JAKE_**."

But there was nothing visible. He was standing so close that he could feel the heat of the flames against his skin and dropped to his knees in anguish. His son was gone. The woman he loved more than any other was also gone because she still cared enough to try to rescue his only child.

"Jason!" A voice rang out through the deafening silence.

He snapped his head up, searching for the owner while he listened intently to his surroundings in case the person spoke again.

"Jason." He turned towards the sound that came from the side of the warehouse and kept following the weak whimpers he could hear more clearly as he drew closer.

A few seconds later, Sam appeared holding something in her arms covered by a blanket. Her face was covered with ash and she had numerous scratches, including a gash that looked bad above her left eye but otherwise she looked unharmed. "Here," she said, holding over the bundle in her arms, gesturing for him to carry the load.

"Don't worry." She insisted with a reassuring nod. "He's fine. Not a mark on him."

Jason grabbed his son from her arms and held him close in a bone-crushing embrace. Jake squirmed enough to get the blanket off his head and he appeared with a wide grin and sparkling blue eyes.

He glanced at Sam, fighting to control his emotions, knowing that he was barely holding the relieved tears in. She wasn't. Tearful brown eyes met blue and he launched forward, pulling her into the embrace with his son. "Thank you."

Sam was still for a moment or two, still processing what had happened until she felt the kiss on her forehead and Jason tightening his arm around her. "Thank you so much, Sam." It took less than a second for her to return the hug, swinging an arm around his back while the other snaked around his neck.

"You're welcome, Jason." She whispered, feeling a rush of emotion as the man she thought she would never forgive; the man she still loved with all her heart raised his head to look at her. She nodded in confirmation. "You're welcome."

* * *

Elizabeth Webber bolted out the front door of the Spencer home, and sprinted down the front porch steps like there were people chasing her. Jason had just finished parking the large black SUV when she got down the last step.

He opened the driver door and her mouth fell open in confused disappointment when she saw that his arms were empty. He was looking towards the back of the SUV and she followed his gaze, feeling a surge of anger stronger than she had ever known when she saw Sam McCall closing the rear left passenger door, and worse yet, she was holding her youngest son in her arms.

She surged forward, racing over to where Sam was standing and regaining her bearings as she bounced her baby boy on her hip. "Give me my son!" She shouted, startling Sam whose head snapped up in surprise. "Give him to me NOW."

Sam's brow wrinkled delicately at the demand. "Okay, okay, just calm down." The woman spoke as she carefully handed Jake over to Elizabeth's outstretched arms.

"Oh, thank God!" Lucky exclaimed with a smiling Cameron in his arms as he came upon the scene, walking right over to Elizabeth and kissing Jake on the head. "I am so glad to see you, buddy." Cameron reached around his father to hug his little brother.

Lucky then turned his gaze to Jason and Sam in gratitude. "Thank you for bringing him home." His gaze rested on Sam for a minute. "Both of you." He added meaningfully.

"Can you take them inside?" He heard Elizabeth ask suddenly. He frowned when he faced her, wondering why she would want to be parted from her son so soon but she quickly explained that she wanted to get Jake fed and cleaned up as soon as possible.

"I also want to have a few minutes with Jason." She added as an afterthought, looking over to the man she was currently infatuated with. Lucky rolled his eyes at how fleeting her big realization about who the hit man really was and how worthless her promise was to stay away from him. Nevertheless, he set Cameron down and took Jake from her arms, reaching down to grab Cameron's hand and headed inside.

"Don't you want to be with your family right now?" Sam asked Elizabeth softly, obviously not hearing the exchange between the two parents.

Elizabeth glared at her. "Shut up, Sam. What the hell are you even doing here anyway?" Sam narrowed her eyes at the harsh statements but squashed her annoyance down, looking at Jason in response to the woman's question.

She suppressed the urge to laugh when the woman realized her meaning and Elizabeth's gaze shot to Jason, bolts of anger practically shooting straight through his head.

"You brought her with you?" Elizabeth screamed in fury as she speared Jason with a black glare and then glanced back at Sam, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "I told you to stay away from my children. I warned you what would happen if you ever came near them again, you spiteful bitch!" The woman took a few steps towards Sam, violent rage sparking in her eyes but Jason stepped in between them, tugging Sam behind him and blocking her path.

"Sam is the one that found Jake in the first place and she is also the one that got him out of that warehouse before it exploded, Elizabeth!" He raged at her, his sympathetic understanding of the woman's coldness and abrasive attitude instantly subsided and was quickly replaced with outraged anger. "She risked her life when she went into that warehouse to save your son, and Sasha Danev almost killed her. She was actually caught in that blast but instead of saving herself, she took the time to grab Jake and get him to safety."

He regarded her angry expression and narrowed his eyes at the crocodile tears that were now sliding down her cheeks in abhorrence. "Sam is the only reason your son is still alive and this is how you treat her?" He screamed, shaking his head in disgust. "You should be down on your knees in gratitude instead of looking at me like I'm the hero. If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at me because I am the one that almost got him killed."

He felt her small hands on his forearm before her voice registered. "Jason," Sam called to him, putting her hand down on his arm and gripping it tentatively so she wouldn't spook him. She knew that it wasn't a good idea to sneak up on him when he was this angry. "We did what we came to do. Jake is home. He's safe now." He looked down at her, and his eyes were growing softer by the second. "Let's just go. OK?"

They stared at each other for a few intense minutes. "OK." He nodded his acquiescence a few seconds later, taking hold of Sam's hand, intertwining their fingers as he turned his back on Elizabeth, and headed back to his SUV.


End file.
